Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative

The Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative (Cooperative) was organized in 1972 by the directors of the fish and wildlife agencies of Vermont and New York and the Northeast Region of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Province of Quebec is not a signatory party, but the Cooperative maintains close communication and coordination with the Province. Other state and federal agencies, organizations and universities regularly participate. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) renewing the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative signed in 2009 calls for coordinated fish and wildlife programs of interstate significance in Lake Champlain.

The specific responsibilities of the Cooperative, as outlined in the MOU, are to:

  • Coordinate evaluation of environmental impacts on fish and wildlife resources and formulate appropriate responses

  • Develop a comprehensive fish and wildlife management plan for species of interstate significance

  • Encourage implementation of the comprehensive plan by the agencies with primary responsibility

Current Cooperative Policy Committee members are:

  • Christopher Herrick, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife (Current Chair)

  • Jacqueline Lendrum, Director, Division of Fish and Wildlife, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

  • Wendi Weber, Regional Director, Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Lake Champlain Fisheries Technical Committee

Management of the fishery resources of Lake Champlain is coordinated by the Lake Champlain Fisheries Technical Committee, which is a workgroup of the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative. Members and advisors of the Fisheries Technical Committee includes staff from the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife (VTDFW), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), University of Vermont (UVM), Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (VCFWRU), Lake Champlain Sea Grant, other universities, and the Quebec Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks.

Documents

Facilities

Biologists inventory fish downstream of a culvert that was replaced to improve natural stream flow and fish passage on Roaring Brook.
Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office
We work with others in Vermont and New York to protect and restore fish and wildlife, and their habitats throughout the Lake Champlain, Connecticut River, and Hudson River watersheds.
Conservation Office
Essex Junction,VT

Latest News

A pair of gloved hands hold a live Atlantic salmon
Migratory Species
Record number of landlocked Atlantic salmon at Vermont dam highlights restoration success
This fall, record numbers of landlocked Atlantic salmon took the fish lift at the first dam on Vermont's Winooski River, a sign of success for a multi-decade multi-partner effort to restore this fishery in the Lake Champlain basin.